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City Document — No. 28, 



CITY OF BOSTON. 




REPORT 



OF THE 



dc;. COMMISSIONERS ON THE ANNEXATION 



OF 



DORCHESTER. 



In Board of Alde>-men, March 1, 1869. 
Laid OD the table, and ordered to be printed. 



Attest : 



F7^ 



CITY OF BOSTON. 



Executive Department, City Hall, 
Boston, March 1, 1869. 
To the City Council of the City of Boston: 

I have the honor herewith to transmit to you the very able and 
comprehensive report of the Commissioners appointed on the 
thirty-first of December, 1868, to consider and report to the 
City Council on the subject of annexing a portion, or the whole, 
of the territory of Dorchester to the City of Boston ; and recom- 
mend it to your early and favorable consideration. 

NATH'L B. SHURTLEFF, Mayor, 






^^ 



CITY OF BOSTON. 



To His Honor N. B. Shdrtlepp, Mayor: 

SiR^ — I have the honor herewith to transmit the report of 
the Commissioners, appointed to consider, and report to the City 
Council, on the subject of annexing a portion, or the whole of 
the territory of Dorchester, to the City of Boston. 
Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

CHAS. R. TRAIN, Chairman. 
Boston, March 1, 1869* 



CITY OF BOSTON. 



In Common Council, Dec. 10, 1868. 

Whereas, in the opinion of the City Council, it has become 
necessary, in order to complete the system of drainage, and har- 
bor improvements, which have been devised for the benefit of 
Boston by the various Commissions which have had, and now 
have these subjects in charge, to annex a portion or the whole 
of the town of Dorchester to the City of Boston. 

Ordered, That his Honor the Mayor be requested to appoint 
a Commission of three discreet and intelligent persons, who shall 
carefully examine the subject, in all its financial, industrial, and 
sanitary relations, cause such surveys to be made by the City 
Surveyor, or under his direction, as they may consider neces- 
sary, and report the result of their doings, with such suggestions 
as they may think proper, to the City Council, as soon as may be. 

A true copy of order passed by City Council, Dec. 22, 1868. 
Attest ; 

S. F. McCLEARY, Cittj Clerk. 



CITY OF BOSTON. 



The Commissioners appointed by His Honor the Mayor in 
pursuance of the foregoing order respectfully submit their 

REPORT: 

To THE City Council of Boston : 

PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 

In 1867, during the Mayoralty of the Hon. Otis Norcross, the 
subject of the annexation of the town of Dorchester was brought 
to the notice of the City Government, and a Board of Commis- 
sioners appointed to confer with Commissioners on the part of 
that town. In that instance, the movement originated with 
citizens of Dorchester. In the present instance, it proceeds 
from the City Council. That Commission was unable to arrive 
at any definite conclusions with respect to the subject-matter 
submitted to them, except that — after expressing the opinion 
that it may become desirable, if not necessary, at some early 
day to annex, a portion at least, of the town of Dorchester, in 
order to complete the elaborate system of drainage and harbor 
improvement, which has been devised for the benefit of Boston 
" they recommended a reference of the whole subject of this 
and future annexations of territory to the City, to a Commission 
to be created by the Legislature." No action was taken by the 
City Council on this recommendation, and none by the General 
Court, and the net result is, the loss of a year's time in the 
accomplishment of this desirable public improvement. 
1* 



6 City Document. — No. 28. 

Your Commissioners have carefully considered the subject 
intrusted to them. Assisted by an accurate map of Dorchester, 
made by the City Surveyor, showing its boundaries, water-shed, 
harbor and river lines and streets, they have personally exam- 
ined the territory. They have, also, held frequent conferences 
witli an intelligent Committee, appointed by citizens of that 
town upon the bearings of this proposed annexation, upon the 
separate interests committed to their charge. The substance of 
these opinions, together with much statistical information upon 
the financial, industrial, and sanitary condition of the town, will 
be found embodied in this report. 

BAD EFFECTS OF PAST NEGLECT. 

It has been the misfortune of the City of Boston, hitherto, to 
be governed by necessity, rather than choice, in the improve- 
ments, which the advancing tide of business and population, has 
rendered essential to the comfort and convenience of its citizens. 
Its peninsular situation, and the conformation of its territory in- 
terposed, at the beginning, natural obstacles to the adoption of a 
uniform system of streets and squares, in which the element of 
space should have due consideration. 

Nor was there any effort made during its early history to 
surmount these obstacles. The old thoroughfares, which nature 
had in part provided, supplemented by narrow cross streets and 
lanes, were considered sufficient for the uses of those days, but 
they served to fix the boundaries of estates, and thus, unfortu- 
nately, entailed upon succeeding generations, the difficult and 
costly labor of adapting them to the uses of an overflowing pop- 
ulation. A large part of this expense has fallen to our lot, 
under circumstances, in the financial condition of the country, 
that aggravate the difficulty, and greatly increase the cost of 
every new undertaking. 

We have "before us, at the present time, in the widening of 



Annexation of Dorchester. 7 

several of our public streets, a conspicuous illustration of the 
truth of this statement. 

The founders of the city were, in most things, sagacious and 
far sighted men ; but they seem to have been sadly deficient in 
the first duty of their time, — the laying out of its streets and 
squares upon some regular plan, which would have simply 
required extension to meet the demands of increasing numbers. 

In this respect we may be thought wiser than our fathers, but 
there is danger that we may render ourselves liable to the 
charge of a similar shortsightedness. 

THE GREAT INCREASE OP POPULATION. 

The multiplication of our population by an increasing ratio is 
a mathematical certainty. We cannot close our eyes to the fact, 
nor can we avoid the immediate responsibility, it imposes upon 
us, to make a wise and timely provision for its future welfare. 
Looking at the present population of the city, — which may be 
roughly estimated at 240,000, — and adopting the ratio of 
increase between the years 1855 and 1865 as a basis of calcu- 
lation, it is apparent that we shall have at the end of the next 
decade, 1880, without accessions from suburban cities or towns, 
a population of rising 300,000; in 1890, on the same ratio, 
360,000 and upwards; in 1900, 450,000. Such a population 
cannot be compressed within the existing limits of the city. 
Some portions of it may find accommodation on the Back Bay, 
but a greater part will be obliged — if desirous of enjoying its 
privileges — to occupy South Boston or the Highlands. The 
Back Bay territory is limited, and will continue to be occupied 
for a considerable time at least, by the more wealthy class of 
our citizens. 

South Boston, with its prospective extended area of filled land, 
it is generally conceded, is to become the seat of extensive 
manufacturing industries, as also of the freighting business for 



8 City Document. — No. 28. 

the railroads on the south side of the city, ■which is estimated 
to require at least one hundred and fifty acres of filled land. 
The Highlands are left, then, as the only territory on that side 
of the city proper, accessible to persons who prefer to remain 
within its limits, and yet wish to avail themselves of the better 
sanitary conditions of the suburbs. The importance of retain- 
ing the industrial classes of our community within the city 
limits cannot be overestimated. An industrious, intelligent 
mechanic, who has a family, and is laboring to place his children 
in a better position than he has been able to attain, is a most 
valuable man in any community. To retain such men we must 
be able to give them land at moderate prices. They will al- 
ways remain in the city if they can live as cheaply and comfort- 
ably as elsewhere, not only because the interests of their labor 
are here, but because of its better facilities of education, recrea- 
tion, libraries, and other advantages which the metropolis 
affords. The money invested in building up compact villages 
in the near suburbs should be applied within the limits of the 
city, thus retaining the population and wealth now lost, and 
adding to its character, wealth, numbers, and virtue. The 
amount of Boston capital invested in real estate in the cities 
of New York and Chicago, not to mention numerous other 
localities, is estimated to reach millions of dollars. This capital 
should be employed here, but will not be so long as Boston 
maintains its present contracted limits. It is apparent to the 
most casual observer that there is not sufficient room for the 
middling and laboring classes, and if the present state of things 
should be permitted to continue, the city will ultimately be left 
to the care of the very rich and the very poor. 

The wants of business in the city proper continually encroach 
upon the habitations of the people. The removal of Fort Hill 
for business purposes, and the still more recent demand for 
eight acres of land, north of Causeway Street, for the accommo- 
dation of the business of the Eastern and Lowell Railroads, 



Annexation of Dorchester. 9 

thus depriving seven hundred and nineteen families and a 
population of four thousand people of their homes, are re- 
markable illustrations of the truth of this proposition. This 
population may not itself seek homes beyond the present 
limits of the city, but it displaces, of necessity, another 
class of inhabitants which ihe city cannot afford to lose, and 
which will accommodate itself in the adjacent towns. The 
growth of these suburban towns is mainly due to the overflow 
of the population of Boston, and what they gain in the advan- 
tages which the country affords, we lose in the substantial 
character of our citizens. 

The annexation of Roxbury, though unwisely delayed, was a 
most important step in the right direction. It is, then, evident, 
on these general views, that timely provision should be made 
for the acquisition of territory of large capacity, bordering 
closely upon the city, in the direction of the movement of popu- 
lation, best adapted to our existing system of water distribution, 
drainage, etc., a territory which we shall have the power to shape 
at small expense, for the healthful occupation of our increasing 
population. 

THE TERRITORY PROPOSED TO BE ANNEXED. 

Dorchester seems to your Commissioners to present these 
important requisites. It has a large area of high land, well 
adapted for residences, and its situation is such that it can be 
easily and cheaply drained. Its north and west boundaries, 
following those of the City, intersect neighborhoods that have 
lived in common for generations. Indeed, so undefined and 
obscure are these limits, that a non-resident would find it difficult 
to tell where the territory of Dorchester begins, or that of -the 
city ends. These lines cut many streets at right angles, thus 
rendering impossible — in the existing state of things — any 
general and comprehensive system of street and sewerage im- 
provements. It has a navigable harbor and river line on the 



10 City Document. — No. 28. 

east, of about three miles in extent, and a continuous river line 
above, navigable to Lower Mills, and reaching to within a short 
distance of its southern limit, with valuable deep water at Com- 
mercial Point and Port Norfolk, aflFording sites for wharves, 
factories, ship-yards, etc., unsurpassed by any in the vicinity of 
Boston. Vessels drawing from eighteen to twenty feet can come 
up to Commercial Point, and sixteen feet at high water, to Port 
Norfolk. The Old Colony and Newport Railroad, with three 
passenger stations in the town, runs within a quarter of a mile 
of the shore, crossing the river at Port Norfolk, from whence 
the Dorchester and Milton Branch Railroad runs near the river, 
to Mattapan. The Hartford and Erie Railroad passes through 
the entire territory, with five passenger stations therein, while 
the Metropolitan Railroad intersects the town with three distinct 
lines of tracks. The distance from the farthest station in the 
town to State Street, is accomplished in twenty minutes. The 
navigation of the river is closed for only about two months in 
the year by ice. 

There are various important industries in different parts of the 
town, that give employment to largo numbers of its population, 
and they are represented to be in a prosperous condition. Nearly 
one half of the population, it has been estimated, do business in 
the city. Its streets are in good order, and the same may be 
said of its public buildings and other property ; and the health 
of the town is as good, if not superior to that of any other in 
the neighborhood of Boston. The following statistics exhibit 
the number of its population, dwelling houses, legal voters, and 
other details, as also, its financial condition. 



Annexation of Dorchester. 



11 



STATISTICS OF THE TOWN. 



Inhabitants, estimated ..... 


12,000 


Dwelling houses, May 1, 1868 


1,830 


Ratable polls 


2,918 


Legal voters 


2,100 


Churches 


13 


School-houses, of the larger class . 


7 


" " of the small "... 


3 


One steam fire-engine, and several hand engines, 




Scholars 


2,000 


Acres of land 


4,532f 


Valuation for 1868 




Real estate 


$9,291,200 00 


Personal 


6,035,100 00 



FINANCIAL CONDITION. 

Town Debt $147,700 

Cash on hand Feb. 1, 1869, and due from State 

and for Taxes 111,092 41 



Actual debt 

Valuation of town property 



. $36,607 59 
. $237,182 26 



COMPARATIVE STATISTICS. 

The following statistics are presented for the purpose of 
showing the comparative areas of Boston, Roxbury and Dorches- 
ter, the aggregate area of the three places being 9,902 acres, 
and the density of population to the square acre and square 
mile of Boston proper as compared with other large cities. 



12 



City Document. — No. 28. 



The original area of upland in Boston was 
The area added, and in progress by filling 

flats, is . . . 
The area of South Boston is 
The area of East Boston is 

Making a total of . 
The area of Roxbury is 

The united areas of Boston and Roxbury ar 



690 


acres 


880 


li 


900 


11 


800 


u 



3,270 acres. 
2,100 « 

5,370 acres. 



The area of the City of New York is 14,502 acres. 
« " Philadelphia is 82,560 " 

« " London is 74,070 " 

The population of Boston to the square acre is 59 



Roxbury " 




a 


13 




New York " 




ii 


56 




Philadelphia " 




li 


7 




London " 




(( 


40 




Boston in 1865 


was 






192,317 


in 1855 


IC 






160,490 



Increase in ten years 



l^i¥o P®^ ^^^^' 



The area of Dorchester is 
" " Boston is 



The population of Dorchester in 1865 was 
" " " in 1855 " 

Increase in ten years .... 



31,827 



4,532 acres. 
5,370 " 



The united areas of Boston and Dorchester are 9,902 acres. 



10,707 
8,340 

2,377 



2^i¥o p^^ c^°^- 



Annexation of Dorchester. 



13 



Boston has less square miles within its corporate limits than 
either of the following cities. 

New York has 22 square miles. 



Philadelphia 

Baltimore 

Buffalo . , 

Pittsburg 

Louisville 

Chicago 

Boston . 



129i 

15 

27 

24 

12| 

23| 

10 



And its proportion of population to the square mile is large 
in comparison with that of other cities, being more than that 
of the city of London. 



Liverpool 






. 29,712 


Bristol 


u 


" 


. 22,080 


New York 


u 


u 


. 32,068 


Cincinnati 


u 


u 


. 30,143 


Philadelphia 


(census 


of 1860) 


4,403 


Chicago 


. 


. 


. 10,833 


Pittsburg 


, 


.... 


5,623 


Boston . 


. 


. 


. 25,600 



CENTRALIZATION OP WEALTH AND POPULATION. 

The tendency of population to centralize in cities, is an 
established physical law, and its operation upon this continent, 
in the building up of great cities, presents more striking illustra- 
tions than may be found in any part of the Old World. This 
concentration has not advanced as rapidly in the city of Boston 
as in many other cities of the Union, but if the rate of progress 
has been slow, it has been sure and irresistible. In a note 
appended to the printed census of 1865, the following statements 

2 



14 City Document. — No. 28. 

occur. " Within the limits of the City of Boston, are contained 
about one-seventh of the population of the State, — 44.06 per 
cent, or nearly one-half of the personal property — and more 
than one-third of the real estate. The cities and towns within 
ten miles, but exclusive of Boston, contain more than one-sixth 
of the population of the State, — nearly one-sixth of the personal 
property, — and a fraction over one-fifth part of the real estate. 
Within ten miles and inclusive of Boston, therefore, are com- 
prised about one-third of the population, — six-tenths of the 
personal property, — and above one-half (.54) of the real estate 
of the Commonwealth. More than one-half o^ the population of 
the State, seven-tenths of the personal property, and two-thirds 
of the real estate, are situated within a distance of twenty-five 
miles from the State House. 

" This condensation of population in the vicinity of Boston, 
as compared with other portions of the State, has existed from 
an early period. A circumscribing circle, drawn from the State 
House at Boston as a centre, and containing exactly one-half of 
the population of the State, would have had a radius in 1765 of 
less than 30 miles; in 1800, of less than 35 miles; 1810, of 34 
miles; in 1820, the radius would have been 32 miles; in 1830 
31 miles; in 1840, 29J miles; and in 1865, a fraction less than 
25 miles. 

"The number of dwellings in Massachusetts in 1865 was 
returned as 208,698; the number of families 269,968; there 
being 61,270 more families than dwellings. The proportion of 
families to dwellings in Boston being 38,021 of the former to 
20,649 of the latter." 

In view of these facts, for they are facts and not speculations, 
the duty of the present and future guardians of tiie city, is as 
clear as the day. It is not to attempt to divert this wealth and 
population into new channels, or to create new centres for it. It 
is to accept the actual, existing conditions, and provide by 
seasonable legislation for its natural, necessary and healthful 



Annexation of Dorchester. 15 

expansion and distribution over a wider area, into the beautiful 
suburbs which nature has so lavishly furnished for the purpose. 

DRAINAGE AND HARBOR IMPROVEMENT. 

On this subject, your Committee refer to the report of the 
Back Bay Commissioners, made to the City Council in 1§63 — 
City Document, No. 81. The Commissioners say " By the 
second report of the United States Commissioners on the condi- 
tion of Boston Harbor, dated Dec. 12, 1860, it is shown that 
between the years 1835 and 1847, there has been deposited in 
Charles River, between the Mill-Dam and Charles River Bridge, 
an amount of sedimea equal to 1,499,000 cubic yards. No 
doubt the largest portion of this sediment has been brought 
down by Charles River, draining as it does many square miles 
of territory. The remedy which we think must finally be 
adopted will be to intercept Stony Brook at, or near, Washing- 
ton Street in Roxbury, and by the construction of a tunnel and 
sewer, in a south-easterly direction through Roxbury and Dor- 
chester, discharge all the water of this brook, and this territory 
into the most easterly end of Dorchester Bay. 

This method of its discharge will relieve Charles River and 
the main body of the harbor from the deposit of any sediment 
from this section of territory. The proposed point of discharge 
for this great sewer, when built, is three-quarters of a mile from 
the nearest point of South Boston, three-quarters of a mile from 
Savin Hill, and more than a mile from Thompson's Island; and 
is so situated that all the discharge from the sewer will he swept 
by the current from Neponset River into the back way or chan- 
nel of the harbor, and thus tend to keep the main channel and 
shores of the harbor free from the deposit of sediment fromUe 

sewers." .■■ . iu- i 

It is obvious that the Commissioners in oonsidenng this sub- 
ject, to which they seem to have given great attention, ant.c.pa- 



IQ City Document. — No. 28. 

ted the time when South Bay would be filled up solid as well as 
the fact that Fort Point Channel should not be made the point of 
discharge for the sewerage which will be required for the popu- 
lation which is to occupy South Bay and the adjacent territory. 

His Excellency the Governor in his recent inaugural address 
interprets accurately the public sentiment. Speaking in con- 
nection with the filling up of the South Boston flats, he said 
'< The filling up of these flats is no doubtful experiment. The 
continual rise in the value of real estate in Boston proves that 
the o-reat present and future need of this City is land. These flats, 
too-ether with a very large territory belonging to the Commonwealth 
in South Bay, are directly in the path of the growth of Boston. 
If a large portion of this territory was filled up, it would sell at 
remunerative prices. The whole of it will be needed within 
this generation." 

Your Commissioners have obtained from the State Harbor 
Commissioners, an expression of their views which, without ex- 
pressing an opinion further upon the question of how best to 
deal with this subject, which increases in importance and diffi- 
culty with the growth of the south pari, of the city, they ap- 
pend hereto. There is no difference of opinion, that the interests of 
our Commerce require that the whole Harbor front of what is 
known as Boston Harbor, in all matters of regulation and police, 
should be under the municipal control of the city. 

WHETHER A PART OR THE WHOLE. 

Your Commissioners have given careful attention to the con- 
sideration of how much, if not all, of the town of Dorchester 
it is necessary, expedient, or desirable, should be annexed to 
the city. The question is attended with some difficulty. An 
experimental line has been surveyed from the southeast corner 
of the city, in the Highland District, as a continuation of our 
south boundary on Seaver Street, thence running nearly in a 



Annexation of Dorchester. 17 

southeasterly direction, parallel with and in the rear of Wash- 
ington Street, Dorchester, south of said street to a point on that 
street midway between the Town House and the church, and 
thence by a nearly direct course to Granite Bridge, on the Ne- 
ponset River. This line, at the first view, would seem to be the 
most natural one that could be drawn, because it preserves the 
continuity of the south boundary, follows the trend of the land 
to Neponset River, and gives us Dorchester Bay, the basin, and 
tidal waters of Neponset River up to a given point, and, also, 
the ground through which a drain may be constructed. 

But such a line could hardly be expected to meet the views 
of the citizens of the town. The territory left out would be too 
small for a township, having less than two-fifths of the whole 
area, and one-fifth of the population, bad in shape, and so situ- 
ated as to make its annexation to either one or the other of the 
towns of Milton, Hyde Park, or West Roxbury, which it adjoins, 
unavoidable. This line is within the six-mile radius, and how- 
ever convenient it might seem to be for a boundary, there were 
so many objections raised to it that your Commissioners felt 
obliged to abandon it. A more contracted line, taking in less 
territory, would clearly be to the disadvantage of the city. On 
this subject your Commissioners assumed that it would not be 
going beyond the scope of their instructions to canvass the opin- 
ions of the citizens of the town. They did so freely, and the 
balance of opinion was found to be, so far as they could judge, in 
favor of the annexation of the whole of the territory, rather than 
its division by the proposed line, or any line which would sepa- 
rate one part from the other. A strong feeling of attachment 
to the name of the town, and its history and traditions, was 
manifested. 

It was thought that, as in the case of Roxbury, by the annex- 
ation of the whole territory, Dorchester might continue to retain 
her boundary and local history, as a precinct of the city. The 
annexation, last year, of a portion of the back territory of tlie 



18 City Document. — No. 28. 

town to Hyde Park, relieves the question of much of this diffi- 
culty. It was found that the present south boundary of the 
town came within the seven mile radius, which seems to be gen- 
erally admitted to be a rational, and practicable limit to the 
extension of the city's boundary. It should, also, be stated that 
by taking the whole territory, a part of Mount Hope Cemetery 
will be embraced within the city limits, an object both interesting 
and desirable. 

CONCLUSION. 

On the ground, therefore, of the necessity for a part, and the 
desirableness of the whole of the territory for the present and 
prospective wants of the city, the highly favorable financial, 
industrial and. sanitary condition of the town, and paying due 
respect to the opinions and wishes of its inhabitants, your Com- 
missioners report it to be their unanimous judgment that the 
whole of the territory should be annexed to the City of Boston, 
without delay, and they, respectfully, recommend to the City 
Council that His Honor the Mayor bq authorized to petition the 
Legislature, in their behalf, for an Act to that effect. 

CHAS. R. TRAIN, V 

NATH'L J. BRADLEE, } Commissioners. 

GEO. A. SHAW, ) 

Boston, March 1, 1869. 



COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. 



Haebor Commissioners' Office, City Hall. 

Boston, Feb. 25, 1869. 

Hon. Charles R. Train, Chairman Commissioners on the annex- 
ation of Dorchester to Boston. 

Sir, — The Board of Harbor Commissioners have the honor 
to make the following report upon the request of the Commis- 
sioners appointed by the Mayor of Boston to consider the subject 
of the annexation of a portion or the whole of the town of Dor- 
chester to the City of Boston : 

Upon the general question of the expediency of enlarging the 
water front of the city, it would not be proper for this Board to 
express any opinion, as they have jurisdiction equally over the 
water fronts of Boston and Dorchester ; and can take as eflScient 
measures for the protection of navigation and the preservation 
of the harbor, whether the corporation limits are diminished or 
enlarged. 

In regard to the matter of drainage, the Commissioners, 
desirous of furnishing such information as they could command, 
directed their Engineer to examine into the subject of deflecting 
the drainage of Stony Brook from Charles River to Dorchester 
Bay. The results of his examinations have been communicated 
to the Board, as follows : 

The topography of the country of which Stony Brook is the 
natural drain, does not admit of other relief for its water-shed, 
except at points near the mouth of said brook, at its confluence 
with Muddy River. 



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014 077 412 1 

20 City Document. — No. 28. 

Between this general locality and the shores of Dorchester 
Bay, the ground is low and level, and a drain or sewer carrying 
even a part of the flowage of Stony Brook, at times of freshet, 
would have to be of large capacity, and through expensive 
ground to occupy for this purpose. 

The distance from the nearest point of Stony Brook, favor- 
ble for deflecting drainage, to the present nearest shore of Dor- 
chester Bay, is about two miles, — 10,500 feet. 

The distance from the same point to Charles Eiver, is about 
one and a quarter miles, 6500 feet. 

The route most favorable and practical for a drain or sewer, 
turning Stony Brook into Dorchester Bay, passes just tangent 
to the township line of Dorchester and is already within the 
limits of the City of Boston near the head waters of South Bay, 
and would not therefore, involve questions of municipal in- 
terest. 

The physical bearing of the drainage from Stony Brook is a 
questionable one. As a tributary to Charles River it is of value. 
Its volume, during a recent freshet, was 400 cubic feet per 
second. The deposits from it, as a sewer, would be injurious ; 
but its influences in comparison with the water volume of Charles 
lliver, or with its mud deposits, are of small proportions. 
Respectfully submitted, 

JOSIAH QUINCY, 

Chairman Board of Harbor Commissioners. 






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014 077 412 1 



